“Princess,” the guard said.
His voice was pleasant. Soothing. Evan was surprised by the depth of it. He stared at her, frowning. Evan realized he was waiting for a response, but she was beginning to lose herself amidst the shock of everything happening around her. There was darkness edging into her thoughts, keeping her from seeing things outside her mind.
“Hello,” she said. She smiled, and his frown grew more intense. He shook his head, and Evan felt uncertainty roll off him.
She arranged her face into the most placid she could muster. The very practice of it brought her mother’s face to her mind. She needed to return her thoughts to what her mother had taught her, to become the woman Queen Astraea would be proud of.
“I apologize for my impropriety, sir guard. I am feeling overcome with the events of today. How can I be of service?”
Evan felt his resolve grow firm again. The frown disappeared and he folded his arms across his chest. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m the one in charge here. I don’t see any way you could be of service to me.”
“There must be something,” Evan said, equally as confident. “Or else you would have already marched me to your king.”
The guard flinched at her words. The small gesture gave Evan enough to work with. She pressed into his emotions, finding her way to the hatred he held for Calix. Evan began to slowly add her own feelings on top of his, spurring the ember into a flame within the guard.
“Our king is dead,” the guard said, his voice dripping with bitterness. “At the hand of his son.”
“Darren,” one of the other guards barked.
Darren ground his teeth. “We all know it, Sam.”
Evan watched several heads nod. She knew if she could hold on to Darren and sway him their way, the other guards would follow.
“Yet you follow the commands of the man who killed your king?”
Darren’s eyes were hard, distant. “What else can we do?”
“Reject him as your king. Remove him.”
“He’s the heir,” Sam said.
Evan shook her head. “That doesn’t give him the right to destroy your people. Are you willing to serve a king who steals food from children, who kills to get what he wants, who is willing to send you to your death on his whim?”
Evan heard someone whisper, “I told you.”
Darren’s eyes silenced the whisperer, but it was too late. Evan could feel the tide of emotion swelling in the room. She didn’t have to stoke the anger these men held for Calix. He had done it himself. These men were against their king.
She turned in a circle, meeting the eyes of each guard. “Why were you waiting in the tunnel?”
“We were coming to ambush your party,” Darren said, bringing her gaze back to his.
“But you didn’t.”
“We heard your command to your men. You spared your enemies, though they were there to kill you.”
Evan nodded. “You have no control over the orders Calix gives.”
Darren nodded. “Calix gives no thought to the lives he risks in his struggle for power. His only concern is the end result.”
“It’s a common fault among royalty. But when I see my men injured or killed because of me, it turns my stomach. I would end this if I could.”
“You’re not like him,” Darren said. “When we heard your words, we knew we couldn’t attack you.”
“Calix will kill you when he learns you didn’t carry out his orders.”
“At least we go to our deaths as free men, rather than serving that lunatic.”
“If you aren’t serving Calix, why are you holding us prisoner?” Nolan asked.
“Prisoner?” Darren asked, his frown returning. “You misunderstand. We’re protecting you. If you’ll have us, that is.”
Evan felt a smile spread across her face. These men were hers, simply because she had done the right thing. It wasn’t her mother’s way of doing things, but it was efficient.
“It would be my honor to have you at my side.” Several of the guards smiled, and Evan felt the room bolstered with pride. She said, “We’ll need a ship to get out of here.”
“No problem,” one of the guards said. “There are half a dozen ships at the underdock.”
“Underdock?” Nolan asked.
Darren smirked. “Protea has its secrets, even from smugglers.” He turned to the guard who had spoken and said, “Get a ship to the royal dock for our princess.”
“I’d like Chef Mariet on the ship as well,” Evan said.
Darren nodded. “Bo, you heard her. And take Molla and Parsi with you in case you run into trouble.”
Two women stepped from their positions and headed out with the other guard. With that taken care of, Evan turned back to Darren and said, “I can’t go without my sister. Do you know where she is?”
A skinny girl stepped up from the back. “Calix had her brought to his chambers.”
Evan’s eyebrows rose. “His bedroom?”
Crimson crept into the girl’s cheeks. “Sitting room. Not long ago. Maybe half an hour.”
Evan’s thoughts turned to the things Calix had said the night of the Protean Ball. He had no regard for women other than what they could do for him. Her mind raced with thoughts of what he could do to Celia. “Take me to her.”
“Princess, it isn’t safe,” Darren said. “Let’s get you out first and we’ll go find her for you.”
Evan shook her head. “No, this is my fight. I won’t back down.”
“There’s no point arguing with her,” Nolan chimed in. “Trust me.”
Darren stared at her as if trying to decide whether he should disobey or not. Finally he nodded and turned towards the exit. The guards lined each side of her, and they marched through the kitchen and into the corridor.
Evan felt anger building inside her with each step. They marched through the hall of kings, where portraits of former rulers stared down on them as they passed. They passed through the corridor with the apartments for visiting dignitaries. Evan saw the door that had been hers not long ago. So much had happened in such a short time. So much was still to come.
Nolan reached forward, pulling Evan to a stop. A group of soldiers three deep spread across the hallway. Their swords, spears, and tridents glinted in the hall’s flickering light as they aimed at Evan’s group.
She shook off Nolan’s hand and pushed her way through the guards in front of her.
“I know you think you’re doing what you must, but there is another way. You don’t have to serve Calix. He is not worthy of your loyalty.”
“Our loyalty is to Protea, no matter who sits the throne,” one of the soldiers said.
Evan nodded. “You were robbed of your true king. This usurper’s priorities are not Protea; he only wishes to serve himself.”
“And you would have us serve you? You are a Triton. What do you know of Protea?” another called.
“I do not wish for your allegiance. I only ask you to let me pass. Let your loyalty remain for Prince Hadrian. Let the kingdom pass to him.”
Darren whispered, “Hadrian is a boy. These men will not follow him.”
But Evan could feel the emotions roiling through the corridor. There was an ebb and flow to them, like the pull of the tides. She closed her eyes and let them pull her. When she was certain of the current, she pushed into the emotions with all her might. A crack sounded throughout the room. Several men staggered, and a few fell to their knees. Evan looked around, finding all eyes staring at her.
“What did you do?” Darren hissed from the ground beside her.
“She’s a witch,” one of the other guards said.
Nausea swept over her as the uncertainty in the room turned to fear. She could feel their emotions churning inside her and bile rose in her throat. She turned to Nolan and Myrthe, but even they looked at her as if they didn’t know her. It didn’t matter. Her priority was saving Celia. She would make it right when she had more time.
She stepped around th
e guards on the floor and approached the door at the end of the hallway. It was crimson and gold, the colors of the Protean kingdom. Evan placed her hands on the gilded scenes carved into the doors. She pushed them forward, entering Calix’s chambers.
Celia was slumped on the floor, unconscious. Her arms and feet were tied, her clothes were ripped, and welts with beads of blood covered her body. Evan ran to her. She knelt beside Celia, checking her pulse. It was faint, but it was there. She felt relief flood through her. Celia was still alive.
Calix would pay for this.
Evan heard the door close behind her. She spun around as Calix entered, flanked by his Siren cronies, Juno and Jove. Evan growled, “What have you done?”
One of Calix’s eyebrows twitched up. “Do you really want to know? Kinky. The real question is what am I going to do with you?”
Evan ground her teeth together. “Release her, now. You don’t need her, you can have me as your prisoner.”
Calix pouted. “But I like her. She’s not as feisty as you, but she’s still got some fire. I think I’ll keep you both. A matching set!”
“What do you want with us?” Evan asked.
The question had been burning inside her for days. She was tired of the hidden agendas and the secrets. She wanted to know what these people wanted from her and her family.
Calix smiled. “I thought you were smart enough to figure it out, Evannia. Perhaps I placed too much faith in you.”
Evan reached out with her senses, pressing against the wall that held Calix’s feelings at bay. With gritted teeth she yelled, “Just tell me.”
Vibrations shot from her hands, knocking Calix back. He stumbled and fell against a table, cracking his head. He looked dazed, and when Evan focused on him she could creep through a thin crack in his subconscious.
She felt cold wash over her and her skin prickled. Inside Calix where his emotions should be was just...void. Evan shook with the realization and pulled herself back from the abyss with a gasp.
Calix was standing again, so close he could touch her. He said, “Fine, I’ll tell you what this is all about.”
He reached his hand towards her, but suddenly Jove’s fingers spread through Calix’s hair, pulling his head back and exposing his neck. A flash of silver raked over his throat and hot life sprayed Evan’s cheek. Evan saw Juno slide the blade back into the sheathe at her side. It happened so fast that Evan barely had time to register what had happened.
Juno pressed a kiss against his bloody neck and tsked, “Loose lips,” before letting his body fall to the floor. When she faced Evan her mouth was covered in Calix’s blood. She stepped past Evan and cut the bonds at Celia’s hands and feet before returning to stand in front of her. Juno leaned forward and whispered in Evan’s ear, so close she could feel the sticky blood on her earlobe. “This is the only time you will receive our mercy.”
Evan tried to speak, but her voice wouldn’t come.
Juno rolled her eyes. “He was a monster. He deserved worse than he received.”
“But he was your friend.”
Juno and Jove both laughed. Jove said, “He was our puppet. But his usefulness could not outweigh his weaknesses.”
“You’re welcome, by the way,” Juno said, pursing her lips. “I thought you’d be more grateful.”
Evan blinked, unsure she’d heard correctly. “You thought I wanted him dead?”
“Sure,” Juno said with a shrug. “Didn’t you just tell the guards to serve his brother?”
“I wanted him imprisoned, to answer for the way he treated his people.”
“Well then you shouldn’t have killed him,” Juno said.
Evan inhaled sharply. “But I didn’t.”
Jove shook his head. “That’s not what we’ll tell Hadrian when he wants vengeance for his brother.”
“I don’t understand,” Evan said.
“You don’t need to, sis,” Juno said.
Jove sneered. “Ugh, don’t call her that. It’s terrible to think we’re related to such a weakling.”
Juno laughed. “I dunno, Jove. I think she’s sturdier than she looks. She may not be a Siren, but our father was tougher than most Tritons. He passed a bit of it to her.”
“It’s true then? My father was married to your mother.”
Juno tilted her head to the side. “You really didn’t know, did you?”
Evan shook her head. “He didn’t tell us you existed.”
“He probably didn’t know,” Jove said, his eyes flashing silver. “The coward abandoned our mother. He wasn’t worthy of her.”
Juno rolled her eyes. “Can you really blame him? She was planning to murder him, after all.”
Jove scoffed. “As well she should have. I can’t understand why she married him in the first place. There were plenty of eligible Sirens to choose from.”
“Oh, dear brother,” Juno said, her voice slipping into condescension. “She was already poised to take the throne, as long her sister couldn’t seduce the Protean king. Securing Triton solidified mother’s standing and pushed our dear auntie out of the running.”
Jove’s face contorted, the corners of his lips turned down in displeasure. “I do not need your lessons, Juno. I’m well aware of the events that led our mother to the throne.”
“I know. In truth, I’m only speaking to accentuate how little our sister knows in comparison. Forgive me?”
Jove laughed, all signs of displeasure erased. “Of course. I didn’t realize. Very clever of you.”
Evan rubbed the palms of her hands over her eyes. She could hardly believe the people in front of her! They had killed their friend and now stood congratulating one another for making Evan feel inferior? She’d never truly believed the tales about the Sirens’ lack of emotions and had assumed they weren’t the monsters in the stories. It was easier to think they had been exaggerated because they were the enemy, but watching the twins made Evan believe some of the legends could be true.
Celia stirred. Evan didn’t want her sister to wake up to the scene in front of her. She took a deep breath, working to gain her composure, trying to work out the best course of action to get her sister to safety. She turned to Juno and asked, “May I search for something to clothe my sister?”
Juno nodded, a satisfied smile on her face. Evan was disconcerted by the smile, but she surmised that Juno was happy Evan had been forced to ask for permission. She seemed to enjoy being in control.
Evan turned to the wardrobe in the corner to find some clothes. She withdrew a long shirt of pale blue. It was a good start. She crossed the room to Celia, still unconscious. Her arms jerked and twitched as if she were in the middle of an agitated dream.
Evan sat beside her on the floor, wishing for all the world she could soothe her sister. Without knowing what Calix had done, she had no way to know what sort of pain was waiting for Celia when she did wake up.
She struggled with the shirt, forcing it over Celia’s head and arms. When she finally had it over her sister, she eased Celia back onto a pillow and pushed the hair from her face.
Celia’s eyelids fluttered. She looked up and asked, “Evan? Is it really you?”
“I’m here, sis.”
Celia sighed with relief, but the moment was cut short as a look of terror crossed her face. Evan followed Celia’s eyes to the floor where Calix’s blood was pooled around his body. Evan stood, putting herself between Celia and Calix. “Don’t look at him, Celia. You don’t need to see it.”
Celia’s eyes found Evan’s, and Evan could feel the despair billowing from her. Evan said, “Look the other way. I’m going to find you some pants and we’re getting out of here.”
Celia did as she was told, though the heaviness of her emotions didn’t lessen. Evan grabbed some velvety gray pants wadded in the bottom of the wardrobe. As she took them out, her eyes caught on a scrap of fabric behind the hanging clothes. Evan pushed everything to one side, revealing Adra’s broken body.
Her arms and legs were crushed, allowi
ng her already small form to be shoved into the wardrobe. Her bouncy blonde hair was matted with blood, and both cheeks were purpled with bruises.
But it was the eyes that left a cold lump in Evan’s chest. They were always so blue, so full of light, that Evan had thought Poseidon himself must have pulled a piece of afternoon sky and placed them in Adra’s head. Now they were dull and dark; the pupils large and dilated, as if the darkness of her murder was seeping into every part of her.
This was no way to remember her cousin.
Evan closed the door to the wardrobe. She turned her back to it and looked between Jove and Juno, wondering if they had known the body was there.
Evan prodded their emotions. Jove held his close, but there was a slight tinge of sorrow that managed to slip through. She looked at the lines etched into his face. Despite his fervent attempt to look bored, she could see that he was sorry for Adra’s death.
She turned to Juno. The smile Evan saw before had grown into a cartoonish grin that made her face look crueler that Evan had imagined possible. Evan said, “You knew.”
Juno laughed. “Of course. She wasn’t the first of Calix’s conquests to meet such a fate.”
Evan tasted bile in her throat. Adra had been nothing more than a plaything to Calix, another in a line of toys. But to hear that Juno knew and did nothing was even more disturbing. Anyone who would let this kind of behavior continue was a different kind of monster.
Evans eyes stayed on Juno, but she tossed the pants Celia who eagerly pulled them on.
“What happens next, Princess?” Juno said, her smile growing more primal.
“I’m taking Celia and my friends home.”
“And then?”
“I’m coming for you.”
Thirty-Four
The trip to Triton took longer than Evan expected. The Protean ship her new guards had taken was an old heap of metal, inelegant in it’s travel and much slower than Evan’s carriage or the ships the smugglers used.
Evan stared out the porthole as the water passed by. Celia was asleep across the room. She had only regained consciousness a handful of times and only for short periods. When she was awake, she stared off into the distance, her eyes focused on something no one else could see.
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